* Explain how each of the following statements denies basic economic postulates:

1."The Department of Defense Budget"covers our basic needs and nothing more."

2."We need better schools for our children."

3."We must fully fund public schools."

4."America needs more sources of energy."

* When the federal government builds a project like a dam, it uses a cost-benefit analysis in which projected total costs are compared to the total projected benefits. If the projected benefits are seen to be greater than the projected costs, the government is likely to approve the project.

Is this method of cost-benefit appropriate from an economic point of view? Why or why not? Explain your answer.

* A textbook I used almost 20years ago said that producers and consumers compete with each other. When I asked him what he meant by that, he told me that they "compete for the surplus" (meaning consumer and producer surplus that was covered in lessons).

Is the text author correct? Why or why not?

* During the 1970s,commentators on TV and in the newspapers constantly spoke of a "new age of scarcity"because "resources are being depleted," and that Americans needed to lower their expectations. Today,Americans have significantly higherstandards of living than did people 40 years ago. Does that mean that scarcity no longer is an issue in economics? Why or why not?

*Please evaluate the economic statement that is implied in the meme posted in this question. One of the assumptions is that soldiers are paid less than professional football players because our social/economic priorities are misplaced. Please address this point as well as any economic concepts that may apply here.

"I think a man with a helmet defending his country should make more money than a moan with a helmet defending a football.'